Although the French were busy fighting internally in Paris, their external enemies were not idle.
Emperor Francis II of the HRE was angry with his Minister of War over the defeat of France.
Franz: "I am the Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire. Can't I even raise an army of 300,000 men?"
Imperial Prime Minister Wilm took out a handkerchief and wiped his sweat: "Reporting to your Majesty, the French did not release the captured soldiers this time as before. According to the situation we have, they are letting these prisoners build the fortress.
"So... it will be more difficult to quickly restore the strength of the troops... It's not that we don't work hard, it's that the French are too cunning!"
The Minister of War nodded in agreement: "Yes, the French are cunning and cunning!"
Franz: "How can they detain our people? This is not in line with the rules of European war!"
Yes, this was the case in Europe in the past. Troops would surrender to the enemy when they saw they were defeated, and then those who surrendered would be released soon after. As long as there were enough officers, another troop could be quickly pulled out.
Wilm continued to wipe his sweat: "Maybe it's because France today is a game-breaker who doesn't care about all order and rules."
Minister of War: "They are all wearing trousers. I heard that French leaders did not even wear trousers when attending parliament. It is really terrible."
Nowadays, the upper classes in Vienna are saying that the upper class in France no longer wear trousers, and only those who wear trousers are noble.
This is actually a misunderstanding. In fact, the upper class in France are now proudly wearing trousers. They used to wear trousers, but now the situation has changed.
Franz: "No matter what, is it possible that we won't be able to organize troops without the released prisoners?"
Wilm: "The troops can be organized, but it will take time. Recruiting officers have already recruited troops all over the empire, but the newly recruited troops are not even in formation, and a large number of non-commissioned officers have also been captured by the French.
When we come back, the army now only has enough officers..."
Franz yelled angrily: "That's enough, I don't want to hear your excuses anymore! Mobilize the troops from Silesia!"
"Absolutely not, Your Majesty!" Wilm immediately became anxious. "The Russians have been watching with eager eyes. We cannot move the troops stationed in Silesia!"
Franz: "Didn't the British say that they could help us persuade the Russians to send troops together?"
"Believe in the British," Wilm paused and emphasized his tone, "it is better to believe in a dog! Haven't you seen it yet? The British just want to turn the European continent into a pot of porridge, so that no one can compete with them.
Overseas colonies!”
Franz: "I don't care! My brother has been captured by the French. I want to organize an army to make the French look good!"
Wilm was silent for a few seconds and said seriously to Franz: "Didn't the French ask to exchange the Louis XVI and Mary who are here with us for Archduke Karl? If you are anxious to get your brother back, you can consider it.
this……"
Franz: "No! Although I'm not good at math, I still know that two is greater than one!"
"Then we can send envoys to discuss with the French and exchange Louis XVI for Archduke Karl."
"This won't work either. My aunt said that Louis XVI will be executed when he returns to France!"
Wilm shook his head: "No, no, he won't be executed. Don't you think Louis XVII is alive and well? And General Frost, who is now very powerful in France, is about to marry a man of Bourbon royal blood. She is the daughter of Duke Tollestaire, so it should be safe for Louis XVI to return home."
Franz pursed his lips, showing a thoughtful expression.
**
At this moment, in the Sedan Fortress, Justice Karl, who was under house arrest here, was holding a copy of "Selected Early Articles of General Frost" and was fascinated by it.
After General Frost became famous, a flatterer in Paris collected Frost's early articles and carefully compiled them. But the general didn't seem to like flattery, so this flatterer was also arrested soon after. Sent to the guillotine.
"A nation-state..." he muttered as he read, "It turns out that the source of the French army's combat effectiveness is here! Germany should also follow France and establish a nation-state with the German nation as the main body!"
A bold idea gradually formed in Archduke Karl's mind.
He put down the collection, stood up, and walked back and forth in the room, muttering to himself as he walked: "The nation is the main body of the country, and the nobility is irrelevant.
"Although I am a noble, I am also a German..."
**
Here in Paris, the latest big event is the peaceful wedding.
An Ning was not planning to do anything big, but his brothers refused to do it.
As soon as Napoleon heard that there was a wedding, he immediately left the troops who were fighting the rebellion under the command of his newly promoted adjutant. He rushed back to Paris overnight. When he saw An Ning when he came back, he asked for a grand wedding, a special one, and gathered everyone to make a fuss.
La Salle had the same idea, and he also gave a high-sounding reason: "Now the citizens of Paris are nervous because of the terrorist policy, and it's time for everyone to vent and have fun."
In the end, An Ning couldn't control his subordinates, so he decided to put the wedding and the celebration party to celebrate the initial results of counterinsurgency together to make it a good deal.
Four months have passed since An Ning dispersed his officers to suppress the bandits. The small group of rebels has been almost wiped out. At least the rebels near Paris have been wiped out. Businessmen in small cities can do business normally. business.
Although there are still a large number of rebels fighting with the French army in the Vendée, it is only a matter of time before the rebels are completely wiped out.
At this time, the parliament was already urging troops to be sent to attack the Lai Yin area.
The congressmen still have the same old thinking, planning to use tax revenue to subsidize the Republic's poor finances after taking over the wealthy Lain region.
It’s not that they don’t know that An Ning is engaged in banknotes again, but in the minds of these gentlemen, banknotes have been linked to unreliability, so in their view, the banknotes issued by An Ning will quickly become valuable waste paper like the coupons. .
Of course, it’s not like no one has discovered the value of what An Ning has done.
As soon as Talleyrand returned from England, he immediately found peace and began to blow wildly.
"You want to have your own pound in France!" Talleyrand said with a smile. "When I was in England, I saw them using pound notes, and I wondered if we could make the notes the same as the pound. That way Our government will not be short of money!"
An Ning looked at Talleyrand and put on a posture of "keep blowing, I'm listening."
Talleyrand continued decisively: "When I came up with this idea, I carefully examined the pound, and then found that the key is that the pound is directly linked to gold! If we want to maintain the value of the newly issued banknotes, let everyone accept it , it must be stipulated that banknotes can be directly exchanged for gold!”
An Ning: "Your view is too superficial."
Talleyrand's game surprise: "Simple? Then I would like to hear your opinion."
“The key is to ensure purchasing power so that newly issued items can be exchanged for actual goods at a set value.
"In fact, gold only plays a role in ensuring people's confidence in this paper currency. It essentially has the same effect as my Frost name.
"Before I issued the coins, I already controlled 50% of the food supply and 35% of the clothing supply in Paris.
"Half of the bread in Paris comes from the stable areas in the south, and one-third of the clothes come from my steam textile factory, so I can pass these goods to ensure that the new banknotes can be exchanged for goods that everyone urgently needs.
"At this time, the advantages of banknotes over metal currencies will begin to appear. Since you can buy the same thing with five-su banknotes and five-su coins, people will naturally use lighter banknotes."
After An Ning finished speaking, Talleyrand suddenly realized: "So that's it, replacing gold with daily necessities! Wonderful, wonderful!"
An Ning smiled, and then changed the topic: "I thought you would hide in London until the terror policy was completely stopped. Why did you suddenly come back, Your Excellency the Priest?"
Talleyrand smiled: "Of course it's because you are getting married. I guess Fouche will be arriving soon. You cannot miss such an important event as your wedding."
An Ning looked at Talleyrand and suddenly felt nostalgic - ah, I originally wanted to be such a character.